Purim Seuda- What Was On Your Menu?

Okay, here I go with another cooking thread, although in this case I am stumped, so help!!! I have no idea what to make for the Purim Seuda and need suggestions. Please tell me your menu for this coming Purim Seuda or from past Seudas. If your going out for your Seuda, I don't need to know that info.

for years already we've had one same family as guests for the purim seuda. the first or second time they came, they made these meat knishes with mushroom sauce. they are so good!!! & now every year i make sure they're bringing those; they are now a part of my purim & i always look forward :)

You can make a brisket today, separate the gravy and chill over night. Skim fat off gravy, slice brisket thin, pour gravy over and freeze. It reheats magnificently and is a big time saver.
Are you the patchke type? What cuisine do your eaters favor?

i find that mini foods go the best.
we're having the seudah buffet style (with just fruit cups and salads on the tables)
we usually have about 45-50 people at the seudah, so everyone chips in and makes something.

1. Fruit cup on the table at each place: Easiest one I know-pineapple tidbits, mandarin oranges and frozen blueberries
2. Stuffed cabbage (it is a purim minhag)- I make it with purple cabbage because that does not have to be checked
3. Chicken soup with kreplach (another minhag)- I use Mazor ravioli dough, it makes them much easier
4. Main course: Chicken-doused with duck sauce, covered and baked for a long time (at least 3 hours), rice, green beans
5. this was our fun course, my husband wanted time to sing (& drink) after he had real food in his system but didn't want to sit with chicken bones on the table, he also felt dessert meant it was time to bench, so we came up with this course. After the main, we cleared the table and brought out "finger foods": franks and blanks, mini knishes (meat & potato), kreplach, homemade pickled veggies (usually beets & eggplant), and anything else along those lines. everyone always loved it
6. dessert: Hamentashen!!! The only appropriate purim dessert.

We used to make seudah for 30-40 people. In case you think this is complicated I used to live in a 1-bedroom apt with a TINY kitchen, with some advanced preparation this seuda is really not hard.

mazal, if you have a manual defrosting freezer (which freezes food very quickly) you can freeze potato kugel raw, take it out of the freezer and bake regularly. If you're freezer's not manual defrost I think you have to bake it halfway first, not sure. Good luck!

Purim Seudas are challenging - you don't always get a consistent hungry crowd - people want to come and go - everybody's stuffed from the day - i used to go nuts - now i make sure to have 'easy' to put out food - i set the table with pretty challahs so it looks nice, and everybody eats it - (challah napkin rings - onion croissants - garlic knots/ all or some) My entree is stuffed cabbage - and that's almost a meal for the in and out guys - Then i put out platters of the same stuffed cabbage (for doubles/latecomers) a roast (bake, refridge/slice - freeze - warm up with sauce), chicken nuggets, potato knishes (either nice long flat latticed roll, or - if i get fancy - megillahs/or hamantashchen -megillahs- flat piece of dough, potato mixture on left side - roll dough to middle and leave flat piece - or hamentaschen - roll out dough - make round circles (plastic container size - potato mixture in middle, and pinch three corners - egg wash, and sesame seeds - if preparing in advance underbake, freeze and bake to serve - franks 'n blanks like megillahs for the kids (i think the Voice had the recipe last week) - fresh salad / or baked frozen chinese stir fry vegetables with onion soup mix and a smidgen oil ) all these can be frozen ahead of time - and warmed up in the oven. Dessert can just be the shallach manos cakes and a scoop of ice cream - ) also one fun tradition for the grandchildren is i make 'gingerbread man' cookies - with a hole in the neck and each kid gets to attach a string/ribbon, and hang haman from the chandelier. A freilichen Purim!

Freezing potato kugel: After it cools, cover tightly and freeze. About one and a half to two hours before baking, put in HOT (400) oven for about 45 minutes, then 300 for another 45 minutes or so till serving. Make sure it stays tightly covered the whole time. Really great.

mazal, freezing cooked potato is not recommended (like potato soup) but fried is ok. and since potato kugel has oil, it's almost like it's fried (not that mine is so oily, but the theory still works...) what's really the problem with freezing is that it breaks down the starch in the potato, giving it this weird texture. kugel is already grated, so it can't really get broken down. besides, there's no added water, so it's better... that's why companies can sell frozen latkes and french fries... if you pay attention to the feel of the potato, you'll realize that the texture is a bit smoother, more broken down than fresh french fries... but they're still good!

and you do NOT have to keep the kugel covered in teh oven the whole time when rewarming. if the kugel is defrosted, just rewarm at 350...
if it's still frozen, cover for 45 min at 400 and then lower the oven temp and uncover... if you keep it covered, it may get soggy.

some people spray the kugel with pam or drizzle with oil before rewarming... you can do what you like.

I think this should be enough, although tonight I was debating if i should make some cabbage and noodles as well.
There as also got to be cake on the table for those that come and go.
Never mind loads of Challa and dips.

kapusta, its really no wonder, they are such an easy finger food.
By the way kapusta are u making kapusta for Purim? I almost dont know anyone that refers to stuffed cabbage as kapusta, it is sooo hungarian!!!

Just curious, is that the way you say stuffed cabbage at home, I dont know a single other family besides for ours that says Kapusta. Most pple that dont say stuffed cabbage say Halupshkis (however, u spell it!). When my husband first heard the way we refer to stuffed cabbage, he thought I was kidding!!!!

Moish, It means the same thing in Arabic. there are many words in Hebrew, similar to Arabic. Calev in hebrew, Caleb in Arabic(Dog). Halav in Hebrew, Haleeb in Arabic(Milk). Those are words I can think of. There are others.

Wow, everyones's menus sound so impressive!! I got so hungry just reading all the yummy foods that will be served. I just got bailed out and was invited out for the Seudah. I just have to make one dish and I am bringing Vegetable lo Mein. Thank you for all the ideas. I hope they helped others. May everyone have a Freilech Purim and may we always have such achdut together.

Unfortunately all my Purim plans have had to be changed, due to my relapsing with the flu and bronchitis. Originally, I was planning to have my two sets of married kids and their respective children, my friend and her husband and daughter, plus my husband and three remaining children. We would have been 14 altogether. I was forced to cancel my plans, as my home is not user-friendly right now since there are germs all over the place, and I am still sick.

I always look forward to a huge seuda, and had I not been so out of it, would have made my planned roast with new potatoes and mushrooms, creamed chicken in puff pastry cups for an appetizer, roasted sweet turkey breast, craisin broccoli salad (if I can still find Bodek broccoli), cranberry sauce, chopped walnuts, and mandarin oranges, basmati rice with sauteed mushroom, onions, and celery, and maybe some sweet potato pie. For dessert, there is only one thing my family looks forward to, my hamantashen and chocolate chip cookies. I might throw in a chocolate cream pie, too.
So this year, we will have to get along with simpler fare. My daughter will do all the cooking, as I am coughing all over the place. I HATE this winter!!!!!

Stuffed grape leaves and porcupines (the meat and rice stuffing rolled into little balls, for those who don’t like eating leaves) (homemade) – mix chopped meat, rice, mint, allspice, cumin, garlic – cook in water and lots of lemon juice.

Sweet & sour turkey meatballs (homemade) – make meatballs, cook with chopped peppers, a can of diced tomatoes, carrots (I used to also add raisins but not everyone uses them now ...) and some ketchup. (This really is not sweet & sour but this recipe evolved from an actual s&s recipe so that’s what we still call it.)

I have a couple of desserts in the freezer ... we made the ice cream cookie sandwich recipe from Kosher by Design Kids in the Kitchen and I have a DELICIOUS parve cheesecake brownie recipe I had gotten from a food newsgroup.

re: nitrates - there is a brand of Hotdogs in the freezer section that do not have nitrates - however, the dextrose (sugar) is too high for me. I go for the reduced fat hotdogs and when I can find them the beef and veal combination hotdogs.

btw, I just finished making the chili...
I made a plain bland more one
and...
a four alarm version. I will let the junior "72's" add red hot sauce to their desire

moish01 - I never claimed to be a health food eater - you must be confusing me with Mrs. YW Moderator-72 - she won't touch most things that I cook. I eat whole wheat for the same reason that I do not eat sugar.

as a side note - I deleted your comment in the other thread (yes, you know which one) -let's try to keep everything above board.